| Adwell | |
|---|---|
 St. Mary's parish church | |
  Adwell Location withinOxfordshire | |
| Population | 27 (2001 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SU6999 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Thame |
| Postcode district | OX9 |
| Dialling code | 01844 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Adwell Parish Meeting |
| |
Adwell is a village andcivil parish about 3 miles (5 km) south ofThame inSouth Oxfordshire. The parish covers 443 acres (179 ha),[2]
The2011 Census incorporated its figures into an output area accordingly used to enlarge the civil parish definition ofShirburn to the south, incorporating these two settlements and Stoke Talmage due to their small population.[3]
Adwell Cop,1⁄2 mile (800 m) southeast of the village, is a 486-foot (148 m) hill topped with aBronze Ageburial mound.Iron Age pottery has been found nearby.[4] Formerly the Cop was erroneously attributed to theDanes, who were in Oxfordshire in 1010.[4]
Until theNorman conquest of England, aSaxon called Wulfstan held themanor of Adwell, as well as three others in the area includingBritwell Salome. TheDomesday Book records that by 1086Advelle had been granted to theNormanMiles Crispin, the firstcastellan ofWallingford Castle. As such, Adwell became part of theHonour of Wallingford. In 1300 Adwell wasescheated tothe Crown, and later it was made part of the Honour ofEwelme.[2]
Early in the 19th century Adwell manor was inherited by John H Birch, who took the name Newell Birch as a condition of the legacy. He left the house to his nephew Henry Birch Reynardson, in whose family the house has remained.[2] In the 20th century three generations of Birch Reynardson served asHigh Sheriff of Oxfordshire: WJB Birch Reynardson in 1913, Lieutenant-ColonelHenry Thomas Birch ReynardsonCMG in 1958 andBill Birch Reynardson in 1974. Thomas Birch Reynardson served as High Sheriff in 2015.
Themanor house isAdwell House. There has been a 17th-century house on this site, but it was rebuilt in either the late 18th[2] or early 19th century.[5] It is aGrade II* listed building.[6]
Adwell's originalparish church is believed to have been built late in the 12th century, although the earliest documentation of it is dated 1254. It had only anave andchancel. The latter may have been enlarged in the 13th century, judging by its east window which was earlyDecorated Gothic. In the 14th century new windows were inserted in the nave and a new west door was added. In 1553 the building was recorded as having abell-cot with two bells. All of the walls were repaired around 1800, but by the early 1860s the building was considered too weak to be restored.[2]
The old church building was demolished and in 1865 it was replaced with a newChurch of England parish church ofSaint Mary designed by theGothic Revival architectArthur Blomfield.[5] Blomfield's design replicated the early Decorated style, but the new building retained the south doorway of the old church, which is in the transitional style betweenNorman andEarly English Gothic.[5] The new church also retains the memorials from inside the old one, including a stone effigy of a knight from about 1300.[7] The new building has noaisles, but has north and southchapels arranged astransepts either side of the chancel. There is no tower, but a bell-cot with one bell. The bell dates from about 1350 and so may be from the old church building.[2] St Mary's parish is now part of theBenefice ofThame.[8]
TheOxfordshire Way footpath passes the western edge of the village.
